Professors for a Strong Israel calls upon Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, who is likely to meet with US President Bush at the ceremony, to raise the matter of Jonathan Pollard and ask for his release. "The current circumstances of our two countries' joint mourning over the loss of the Columbia make this a particularly apt opportunity for a gesture of this nature," the organization notes.
A special showcase will be on display in Yad Vashem’s Holocaust History museum in honor of Col. Ilan Ramon beginning tomorrow. Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev spoke of "the significant role the Holocaust played in [Ramon's] identity as a Jew and as an Israeli." Prior to the space flight, Ramon asked Yad Vashem for a Holocaust relic to take with him on his shuttle mission. Yad Vashem staff searched through its extensive collections to find something personally relevant to Ramon - whose mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz. “When we came upon Petr Ginz’s 'Moon Landscape,' we knew we had found a match,” reflected Shalev. “Not only was Ginz murdered in Auschwitz, at the age of 16, but his sketch reflects his vision of how the earth would look from the moon." Ramon took a NASA-approved replica of the drawing, while the original will be featured in the Yad Vashem special showcase, with photos of Ramon and Ginz. The showcase will also hold the Hall of Names Page of Testimony for Petr Ginz that was filled out by his sister, and a Page of Testimony filled out by Ramon’s mother for a family member.
In other Holocaust-related news, the Prosecutor's Office in Poland has renewed its efforts to find Ivan the Terrible, the cruel Nazi guard in the Treblinka concentration camp. One of those under suspicion is John Demjanjuk, who was cleared of this suspicion by the Israeli Supreme Court ten years ago and was allowed to return to his home in Cleveland. Three other Ukrainians living today in Poland are also under investigation.
A special showcase will be on display in Yad Vashem’s Holocaust History museum in honor of Col. Ilan Ramon beginning tomorrow. Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev spoke of "the significant role the Holocaust played in [Ramon's] identity as a Jew and as an Israeli." Prior to the space flight, Ramon asked Yad Vashem for a Holocaust relic to take with him on his shuttle mission. Yad Vashem staff searched through its extensive collections to find something personally relevant to Ramon - whose mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz. “When we came upon Petr Ginz’s 'Moon Landscape,' we knew we had found a match,” reflected Shalev. “Not only was Ginz murdered in Auschwitz, at the age of 16, but his sketch reflects his vision of how the earth would look from the moon." Ramon took a NASA-approved replica of the drawing, while the original will be featured in the Yad Vashem special showcase, with photos of Ramon and Ginz. The showcase will also hold the Hall of Names Page of Testimony for Petr Ginz that was filled out by his sister, and a Page of Testimony filled out by Ramon’s mother for a family member.
In other Holocaust-related news, the Prosecutor's Office in Poland has renewed its efforts to find Ivan the Terrible, the cruel Nazi guard in the Treblinka concentration camp. One of those under suspicion is John Demjanjuk, who was cleared of this suspicion by the Israeli Supreme Court ten years ago and was allowed to return to his home in Cleveland. Three other Ukrainians living today in Poland are also under investigation.